U.S. History 1302
Spring 2017

Text: H.W. Brands, American Stories vol. I, 4th ed. This is an electronic textbook and the cost has already been added to your tuition payment. I will send you an email "invitation" that provides a link to give you access to this online text. If you prefer not to use the online text you can opt out of this fee and receive a refund. You can then purchase a loose leaf printed version of the text for $20. Opt-out requests must be received prior to the official reporting date for a full refund. For more information on opting in and opting out go HERE. You can also find more information at www.austincc.edu/firstday

Course Objective and Rationale: This course is a survey of American history from 1877 to the present and partially fulfills the legislative requirement. While it is primarily intended to be a lecture course, we will devote a substantial amount of class time to discussion and questions. This class offers students opportunities to pursue historical topics of individual interest and enhance their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. You should be aware of the expectations that the History Department has for all ACC students.

Course Organization: Your grade will be determined by your scores on 4 Unit Exams and once Critical Book Review each of which are worth 20% of your final grade. The Unit Exams will be roughly 60% multiple choice and 40% short answer or identification. The exams may include several map questions as well. At the beginning of each unit, I will distribute a list of Identification items and Lecture Objectives for that unit. These will be your study guides for that unit, but you may  wish to use the online tutorial for America: Past and Present. You may also wish to consult the Common Course Objectives.

Re-testing and Make-up Exams: Students who have scored less than 60% on an exam may wish to re-test. However, the highest grade a student can earn on a re-test is a 75. Students who have a valid reason for missing the regularly scheduled exam on the assigned testing day may take a make-up exam. Students taking a make-up exam are not limited in how high a grade they can earn, but they may not re-test. Make-up exams and re-tests will have an essay format and MUST be taken in the Testing Center WITHIN TWO WEEKS after the regularly scheduled exam was returned to the class. You should acquaint yourself with Testing Center rules and hours. If you need to take a make-up or a re-test you should contact me as soon as possible because this is an inflexible deadline and there will be NO EXTENSIONS and NO EXCEPTIONS for this requirement. No re-test will be offered for the 4th exam.

Attendance: The best way to do well in this course is to attend class regularly and participate in the discussions. In the lectures I will present material that is not in your text and WILL appear on the unit exam. Make sure to be on time to class because attendance will be taken at the BEGINNING of each class and anyone who arrives after I have taken attendance will be counted absent for that day. Students who attend faithfully AND participate in discussions AND KEEP THEIR PHONES TURNED OFF may earn up to TWO POINTS on their final grade. Recognize, however, that grades are NOT AUTOMATICALLY rounded up in any circumstance.

Withdrawal:  A student may be withdrawn from the course at the instructor's discretion, but in every other case withdrawal is the STUDENT''S RESPONSIBILITY.  The last day to withdraw from the course without academic penalty is APRIL 22. I WILL NOT withdraw students retroactively UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES

Incompletes: Incompletes will be given ONLY in VERY RARE instances and ONLY to students who have a DOCUMENTED  excuse for missing the 4th exam AND have gained approval from me by MAY 10. All other work must be turned in by the last day of class.

Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! The college policy states: "Acts prohibited by the College for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty. including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research, or self-expression. Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework." Any student found guilty of academic dishonesty (cheating or plagiarism) will automatically be assigned a FAILING GRADE FOR THE COURSE.  Additionally, you should recognize that students may be required to "defend" their Critical Book Review if the authorship is questionable.

Students with special needs: Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities.  Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Student Accessibility Services Office on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes.  Students should do this three weeks before the start of the semester.

Student Privacy: The federal government requires that student privacy be preserved.  Thus the posting of grades, even by the last four digits of the social security number, is forbidden.  All communication will remain between the instructor and the student, and the instructor will not be able to share details of the student's performance with parents, spouses, etc. I can not give out grades over the phone or by email, but you may check your final grades online.

Use of ACC email
ACC sends all email communication solely to the student's ACCmail account and expects students to read the messages in a timely manner. So that means all important information and emergency details will go only to your ACCmail . Students should expect to receive from, and send email to, their instructors from their ACCmail account. To set up an account, students can go to ACCmail for instructions.

Safety Statement
ACC is committeed to providing a safe and healthy environment for study and work. Students are expected to learn and to comply with ACC environmental, health, and safety procedures and to follow ACC safety policies. See the Environmental Health and Safety link for more details. The College also asks that each student become familiar with the Emergency Procedures and Campus Safety Plan map in each classroom. See ACC Emergency Alerts to sign up for electronic notices in the event of a serious emergency.

Building Regulations
ACC regulations prohibit smoking, drinking, and eating in classrooms. This prohibition includes e-cigarettes.

Additional Note: Learning is a skill. The more you practice, the easier and more enjoyable learning becomes. Learn all you can. Ask questions. Challenge yourself. Stay informed. To give ourselves a better perspective on the historical events we study and to help us make some sense out of the world around us, we will, when time allows, spend a few minutes discussing the day's most important current events. Each student is strongly encouraged to participate in class. In any classroom situation that includes discussion and critical thinking, there are bound to many differing viewpoints. These differences enhance the learning experience and create an atmosphere where students and instructors alike will be encouraged to think and learn. On sensitive and volatile topics students may sometimes disagree not only with each other, but also with the instructor. It is to be expected that faculty and students will respect the views of each other when expressed in classroom discussions. We will, therefore,  vigorously defend the principles of free speech so every student should feel comfortable in expressing his or her opinions.


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